Spiritual Friendship: Learning to Be Friends with God and One Another

Chapter 4: The Advantages and Excellence of Spiritual Friendship (Book 2.28–72)

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A Preview of the Third Conversation on Spiritual Friendship (2.70−72)

70. GRATIAN: I confess that my friend Walter has done me no small favor, since he has prodded you with his questions into giving a summary—a sort of brief epilogue—of all the matters we’ve discussed; it is as though you have vividly depicted our conversation before the eyes of memory itself. And now, please set forth for us the duties of friends, what moderation should be observed or what precautions taken. xi 71. AELRED: Both these and other matters concerning friendship remain to be dealt with. But our hour is gone, and those who just now came in, as you can see, are forcing me to other business with their brusqueness. 72. WALTER: I’m unwilling to yield to them—that’s sure—but tomorrow I will certainly return when the opportunity presents itself. And let Gratian see to it that he be present tomorrow, lest he accuse us of negligence, and we accuse him of tardiness.